Balancing device for airships.



G. H. KELLOGG.

BALANCING DEVICE FOR AIRSHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 6, 1909. 1,035,795, Patented Aug. 13,1912.

2 SHEBTS-SHEET 1.

Witnesses.

G. H. KELLOGG.

BALANCING DEVICE FOR AIRSHIPS.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.6, 1909. 1 ,O35,795.

Patented Aug. 13, 1912.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

llz'iwas'sesw M Ma.

ning transverselv of the machine.

GEORGE HERBERT KELLOGG, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

BAL ANCING DEVICE F013 AIRSHIPS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug 13, 1912.

Application an August a, 1909. Serial a... 611,583.

To all whom it may concern:

the State of New York,have invente new and useful Improvements inBalancing Devices for Airships, of which the following, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

This invention relates to certain improve ments in balancing devices forair ships of the aeroplane or dirigible balloon type in which the angleof flight. and horizontal position of the air ship are controlled bymeans of one or more horizontal rudders 0r wings.

The primary object is to automatically control the action of theserudders or wings through the medium of one or more pendu-.

lums and a suitable operating fluid under pressure for the purpose ofmaintaining the.

machine on a level keel, in or in a horizontal position, while inflight, and also for the purpose of operating the horizontal rudderstrally pivoted at 6 to the front ends of the runners 4-, preferablyabove and in' front of the horizontal plane --1, and is provided with acrank arm -7 extending =upwardly from its tilting axis or pivot --6 fortilting the blade in one direction to control the angle of flight ordescent of such machine.

In my pending application No. 474,484, filed January 27th, 1909, isdisclosed an aeroplane having lateral wings and front and rear rudderscontrolled by ndulums or frames swinging in planes at right angles toeach other, and also discloses means controlled by a pendulum foroperating the horizontal rudders under fluid pressure, while my presentapplication refers exclusively to the means controlled by a pen-- dulnmfor operating horizontal rudders or horizontal wings under fluidpressure, and while such mechanism is shown as a plied to a machinesimilar to that set forth in my pending application referred to, it isapplicable to any dirigible air ship in operating one or more of itsguiding planes, rudders or wings.

Other objects and uses relating to specific parts of the rudder orwing-operating mechanism will be brought out in the followingdescription.

In the drawings-Fi ure 1 is a perspective view of a dualplane air shiphaving horizontal front and rear rudders and opposite side wingstiltable on an axis runr Fig. 2 is an enlarged side elevation fpartlybroken away of the lower portion 0 the air ship shown in Fig. 1, showingthe tiltable supporting case for the pressure cylmder in section. Fig. 3is a still further enlarged Be it known that I, Gnoncn H. KnLnooe,' ofSyracuse, in the county of Ononda a, in

of the main supporting frame for the planes.

Secured to the main supporting vframe some distance below the lowerplane 1- are suitable shoes or runners +4-- for supporting the machineupon the ground or other available support when not in use, or whenleaving or returning to and from the ground during the ascent or descentof the machine, the front ends of the runners being turned upwardly infront of and above the lower horizontal plane 1.

A front horizontal rudder 5 is cenor the other to control the angle offlight or descent.

Secured to the rear portion of the main supporting frame and preferablyto two or more of the rear upri ht bars 3 is a rearwardly projectingracket -8, upon the rear ends of which is centrally pivoted at 9 a rearhorizontal rudder 10 having a crank arm -11 extending downwardl from itstilting axis or pivot 9 for tilting the blade -10 and additionallycontrolling the angle of flight.

A frame bar -12. is secured to, and runs centrally across and somedistance beyond, the opposite sides of the upper supporting plane "2-andupon these oppositelv extending ends are centrally mounted tiltableside win 5 1 3- which are normally disposed in substantially the sameplane as the sup orting plane -2, but are adapted to be ti tedtransversely on the pivotal bar 12- in a manner presently described.

A vertical steerin rudder 14.-- is journaled upon-an uprig t support 15which in turn is'supported by suitable brace bars 16-- to the mainsupporting frame, said steering rudder being preferably disposed -14+may be operated by any suitable mechanism, as cables -17- not necessaryto herein further illustrate or describe.

The machine is adapted to be propelled b means of an engine 1 8 andpropeller b ades 19, the engine being mounted in suitable framework justabove the lower plane '--1, while the propeller blades -19- are mountedupon suitable shafts on the main supporting frame, preferably at thefront of the machine and adapted to be driven by belts or otherpower-transmitting mechanism from the engine.

A suitable seat .20- forthe operator is provided on the lower plane 1--within easy reaching distance from the engine, where the operator mayreadily control the action of such engine.

The operation of he front and rear horizontal rudders 5 and '-10- iscontrolled from. a fluid pressure cylinder -21- which is located in asuitable casing 22 extending forwardly and rearwardly of the machine,and preferably pivoted at -23- to-one side of the seat--20 or othersuitable support.

The blad 13-- are controlled from a similar cylinder which is mounted ina separate casing 24 running transversely of the machine and rigidlymounted upon suitable supports -25-- near the front edge of the lowerplane -1-.

Each cy inder -21 is rigidly secured lengthwise of-and within itscorresponding case, and, therefore, the cylinder which is mounted withinthe case -22 is tiltable and extends lengthwise of the machine, orforwardly and rearwardly with respect to the direction of flight, whilethe casing -24 is rigid on the frame of the machine and extends at rightangles to the line of flight, or transversely of the machine in a planeat substantially right angles to that of the casing -22-.

Aside from the tilting action of the casing 22 and cylinder 21 inclosedtherein, and means for tilting the same, the cylinders and mechanismsdirectly associated therewith are identical, and I will now proceed todescribe the cylinder in the casing -22-- and its connections forcontrolling the operation for the front and rear horizontal rudders 5-and -10-.

As best seen in Fig. 3, each cylinder contains' a closely fittingsliding piston 26- having coaxial oppositely extending piston rods -27--and -28, which project through suitable glands or stuffing-boxes 29- inopposite ends of the cylinder -21, and are connected by links -30- and31-, respectively, to the crank arms -7- and .11- of the correspondinghorizontal rudders -5' and -10, the outer ends of the piston rods 27 and28- being guided in suitable bearings -32- in the opposite ends of thecorresponding casing 22- as best seen in Figs. 2 and 3. Associated witheach cylinder is a valve chamber 33- running lengthwise of the cylinderand communicating therewith through suitable ports -3 i and -34' whichare inder and also near the ends of the va ve chamber, said valvechamber being provided with an inlet 35- which is connected by a conduit-36- to a storage reservoir -37 containing fluid, such as air, underpressure. The opposite ends of the valve chamber 33- are open to theatmosphere.

The ports -34 and -34--- are normally closed by sliding valves 38- and-38 which are of ust suflicient length to normally cover theirrespective'ports and are connected by a rod ,-39- for simultaneousmovement in one direction or the other for permitting the entrance ofthe pressure fluid at one end of the cylinder and allowing the exhaustof air from the opposite end of the cylinder to atmosphere, therebyoperating the piston -26- toward the port which is open to atmosphere.

Theaction of the valves 38- and -38" and consequent action of the piston26- and horizontal blades -5 and 10 connected thereto, are controlled bymeans of a weighted pendulum 40-- which is located at one end of thecylinder 21 within the casing -22- and is pivoted at its upperend at -41to an oscillatory supporting frame 42-, the latter bein in turn pivotedat 43 upon a suita le bracket 44- on the interior of the upper side ofthe casing 22, as best seen in Figs. 3 and 4. Both of the pivots -41-and 43- constituting the swinging axes of the pendulum 40 and frame 42are located some distance above the line of movement of the piston rod-28-- and valve rod -39, the pendulum -40 and one side of the swingingframe, as 45-, extending downwardly from their respective pivots somedistance below the line of movement of the piston rod 28-.

The vaive rod 39- is provided with an extension 46* which is-pivotallyconnected at 47- to the pendulum bar 40 between the lower pivot -4.-1-and line of movement of the piston rod -28 so that any chan e in thenormal relation between the pendifi by the tilting of the machine from ahori-' zontal plane, will transmit, through the extension -6-, motion tothe valves 38 and 38'', thereby openin one of the ports to theatmosphere and t e other port um and cylinder, as, for example,

located near the ends of the c 1- to the valve chamber 33-- foradmit-tin the pressure fluid to the corresponding end of the-piston andthereby operating the piston toward the high end of the machine orcylinder. This action of the piston imparts a tilting motion in oppositedirections to the horizontal rudders for automatically restoring themachine to a level keel or horizontal position.

As best seen in Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the lower end of the extension arm 45-of the swinging supporting frame 42- for the pendulum is connected by alink 48 to the piston rod 28- some dis-.

ders connected thereto.

The connections between the pendulum 40 and valve rod 46-- and swingingframe 42 and also the connections between the swinging frame andv pistonrod,

and between the plston rod and horizontal planes, are adjusted sothatthe di or tilt of the machine to any an le from a orizontal plane willautomatica ly produce a proportionate tilting an le, in this instanceabout 6, of said rud ers, -to-1 of the machine in such direction as tooppose the tilting angle of fli ht and quick y restore the machine to aevel keel or horizontal 'tion. For example, assuming that durmg flightit was desired to maintain the machine on a'level keel or horizontalline of fli ht, and the front end of the machine shoul from any causedip downwardly, the

pendulum would maintain its vertical position by swinging toward the lowend of the machine, thereby opening the valve -38 to the atmosphere andopening the valve -38' to admit the fluld, as air, under pressure to theotplposite end of the cylinder, thereby moving e iston and rodsconnected thereto toward t e high end of the machine, which would tiltthe front and rear rudders 5' and 10 in opposite di rections, or to theositions shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2. hat is, the front edge of thefront rudder would be tilted upwardly, while the front edge of the rearrudder would be tilted downwardly, the front rudder exerting a liftingpower upon the front end of the machine, while the rear rudder wouldexert a depressing power upon the rear end of the machine, thus quicklrestoring the machine to a level keel or orizontal position, the reverseaction taking place should the front end of the machme tend to tiltupwardly.

' ports and al The valves 38 and -38' are of just sufiicient length tocover their respective ports 34-- and. 34- when in their closedpositions, and, therefore, the sli htest degree of movement of thependu'um from its normal position, caused by the Ion-- gitudinal'tiltin of thecylinder -or machine, will instantly s ift the valves to open .said

ow the fluid under pressure to operate the piston and rudders connectedthereto for the purpose of restoring the machine to its normal balance,but as soon as the piston begins to move, it begins i mediately torestore the valves to their normally closed positions through the mediumof the link 48 and rocking frame 42- connected thereto so that by thetime the machine is brought to its normal balance, thevalves will beclosed.

Itis now apparent -that although the pendulum controls the opening ofthe valves, and thereby controls theoperation of the piston and frontand rear rudders connected thereto, the degree of movement of thevalves, and, therefore, the degree of movement of the piston and ruddersis in turn controlled by the degree of move ment of the piston.

The swinging axes of the'pendulum and its oscillatory supporting frameare comparatively close together, while the connec tion between thepiston rod and swinging frame'is a considerable distance from the lowerswinging axis of the pendulum, there by permitting a much greatermovement of the piston and rudders connected thereto than that of thevalves, and by pivotally supporting the pendulum upon a swinging frameand connecting said swinging frame to the piston rod in the mannerdescribed, it is evident that as the pendulum swings in one direction,or toward the low side.of the tilting cylinder or machine, the valveswill be moved in the same direction to admit atmospheric air to thecylinder to move the piston in the opposite direction, and that suchmovement of the piston will rock the frame4-2- thereby shifting thedulum bodily in the same direction as the moving piston to restore thevalves to their closed position, thus checking the movement of thepiston and rudders connected thereto. This automatic regulation of thedegreeof movement of the rudders is one of the most important featuresof my invent-ion, especially the means brought into action by themovement of the piston for restoring the valves to their closedpositions and thereby limiting the degree of movement of the piston andsaid rudders, although it is clearl evident that the tilt of the'rudders wi of flight either easily controlled lot at will, the casingor suppport 22-- for its inclosed cylinder 2 1s tiltably balanced ormounted upon a swinging axis or pivot '23, as best seen in Figs. 1, 2and 3, preferably located just below the rear end of the cylinder, saidcasingbeing provided on its front end with a handle 5lhaving a catch-52- movable into and out of engagement with a toothed rack or segment53, as best seen in Figs. 1 and2, said handle 51 and rack -53- being lo'cated within easy reaching distance from the seat 20 so that theoperator may readily tilt the casing 22 and cylinder therein at an anglewith the plane of the machine or supporting planes 1 and --2. Thiscylinder -21- and sup orting casing 22 is normally dispose 'horizontallyin flight at the desired altitude, but in ascending to such altitude itis, of course, necessary to cause the machine to assume somepredetermined safe angle of flight, during which time the operatorsimply disengages the catch -52- from the rack -53 and depresses thefront end of the casing -22- and its cylinder -2l by means of the handle-51, which causes the pendulum to swing toward the low end of thecylinder, thus opening the valves --38 and'38- and allowing the pressurefluid to enter the cylinder and force the piston rearwardly, therebytilting the front edge of the front blade upwardly and the front edge ofthe rear blade downwardly somewhat as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 2,the tilting angle of the rudders and, therefore, the angle of flight ofthe machine depending upon the degree of tilt of the casing -22 and itscylinder 21, for it is clearly evident that as soon as the machineassumes an angle which will bring the cylinder to a horizontal position,the pendulum -40- will immediately return to a position at right an leswith the cylinder, and thereby close the valves -38 and 88-,, therebyautomatically maintaining a uniform angle of flight until the desiredaltitude is reached, at which time the operator again restores thecylinder and supporting case 22- to its normal position, or parallelwith the supporting planes -1 and 2-, thereby causing the pendulum, ineffect, to swing toward the opposite or rear low end of the machine,which opens the valve 38- to admit the pressure tluid to thecorresponding end of the cylinder and thereby move the piston in theopposite directionuntil the rudders connected thereto assume ahorizontal plane, thereby operating to depress the front end of themachine and elevate the rear end of the machine until the latter alsoassumes a horizontal plane, in which position the machine will beautomatically maintained or balanced at a predetermined altitude untilit is deton forwardly to throw the front. edge of the front rudderdownwardly and the front edge of the rear rudder ;-10 upwardly, thuscausing the machine to assume a predetermined angle ofdescent which isautomatically maintained by the pendulum -40 until the machineapproaches the ground or other level where it may be desired to againbring the machine to a horizontal position, at which time the o eratorsimply restores the casin 22. an cylin der 21 to a planesu stantiallyparallel with the planes 1 and 2., whereupon the pendulum 40automatically causes the restoration of thefront and rear rudders 5 and+6-- to a horizontal plane through the medium of the'piston andconnection with the rudders.

Wing controlling mechanism-The side wings 13-- tiltupon a central axisrunning transversely of themachme, and the operation of said wings isautomatically controlled by a cylinder -21- in the easing 24 which, aspreviously stated, extends transversely of the machine, or atsubstantially right angles to the direction of flight, and inasmuch asthe cylinder and other mechanism associated therewith .are the same asthat which is inclosed in the casing --22 for controlling the front andrear rudders, it will be unnecessary to further describe these partsexceptto state that the extensions 27 and -28'- of the piston rods areconnected by links -60- and -61 to bell crank levers 62- and -62- whichare pivotally' mounted upon the front edge of the bottom of the mainsupporting frame, said bell cranks or levers being connected by links-63- and -64tto the front edges of the respective wings 13, as best seenin Fig. 1. It is now evident that if the machine should tilt laterallyin one direction or the other, the pendulum in the inclosed case 24-would be shifted toward the low side of the machine, thereby admittingfluid under pressure to the corresponding end of the cylinder to forcethe piston toward the op osite side of the machine, which would eevatethe front edge of the wing at the low side of the'machine andcorrespondingly depress the front edge of the wing at the high side ofthe machine and cause a quick restoration of such machine to its normalbalance or horizontal position.

In turning the air ship from a direct course, or in a circle, it isnecessary to slightly depress the side of the machine toward the insideof the circle, or to elevate the outer side of the machine toward theoutside of the circle in order to maintain pro er balance and preventskidding of the mac ine. This dipping movement of the machine toward theinside of the circle is produced by the inertia of the pendulum whichtends to swing toward the outsideof the circle, thereby opening thevalve -38- and admitting the pressure fluid to the corresponding end ofthe cylinder for moving the piston toward the side of the machine whichis to be depressed, which, by the connection shown in Fig. 1, operatesto depress the front edge of the wing at the corresponding end of themachine and to elevate t e front edge of the wing at the opposite end ofthe machine, thus producing the desired dip automatically and safely,because any excessive tilt of the blades will cause the automaticclosing of the valves and prevent further movement of the wing operatingpiston, while the pendulum will immediately recover its verticalposition as soon as the machine; assumes a direct line of flight.

. The operating fluid, as air, is compressed in the reservoir -37-- bymeans of a compression pump 70 which, in this instance, is shown asoperated directly from the crank shaft of the engine -18.

If, for any cause, the air ship tilts either up or down in the directionof flight or laterally, the corresponding pendulum will, of course,remain in a vertical position, which will cause the" corresponding valveto be moved toward the low end or side of the machine, thereby admittingthe operating fluid to the low end of the cylinder, which will move thepiston toward the high end or side of the machine and operate thetilting planes or rudders, as the case may be, to automatically checkthe further tilting of the machine and restore such machine to itsnormal balance. This shifting action of the iston operating through themedium 0:? the swinging frame -42-- will close the valves and therebystop further movement of the piston, and consequently will temporarilyhold the planes or rudders in their tilted position with the piston atone side of the center of the cylinder. Now

as the machine is restored to a level keelthe,

pendulum and swinging frame, as well as the planes or rudders, to theirnormal positlons with the ship on a level keel.

What Iclaim is 1. An automatic balancing device for air ships comprisingopposite tiltable balancing planes, a pendulum pivoted to swing in thedirection of extension of the balancing planes,-a swinging support towhich the pendulum is pivoted and adapted to swing in the same directionas the pendulum, and means controlled by the swinging of the pendulumand its swinging support for controlling the tilting action of thebalancing planes.

2. An automatic balancing device for .air shipscomprisin oppositetiltable balancing planes, a pendu um, a swinging support to which .thependulum is pivoted, the pivots for the pendulum and its supportbeingparallel and arranged so as to cause them to swing in the direction'ofextension of the balancing planes, and fluid actuated means controlledby the pendulum and itsswinging support for controlling the tiltingaction of the balancing planes.

3. In an automatic balancing device for aeroplanes, in combination witha supporting plane, a tiltable balancing plane, a cylinder tiltablerelatively to the supporting plane, means operable at will for tiltingsaid cylinder, a piston movable in the cylinder, connections between thepiston and balancing plane, means for supplying fluid under pressure tothe cylinder for operating the piston, and additional means brought intoaction by the tilting of the cylinder for controlling the supply offluid to the cylinder.

4. In combination with a supporting.

pivoted to the support and'located entirely within the housing, andmeans controlled by the abnormal change to relative position between thependulum and housing for operating the balancing plane.

5. In a dirigible air ship, means for automatically balancing the shipcomprising a fluid-operated piston, valves forcontrollmg the movement ofthe piston, a swingin support actuated by the piston, and a pen ulumhinged to the support and controlling the action of said valves.

6. In a diri 'ble air ship, mechanism for automatically alancing the airship, including a cylinder, a piston, means for admitting fluid underpressure to the cylinder to operate the piston, valves controlling theassage of such fluid to the cylinder, a pendulum controlling the actionof the valves, and connections between the piston and pendulum formodifying the movement of the valves, and a housing in which saidpendulum vlbrates.

7. In a dirigible air ship, mechanism for the cylinder, a pendulumcontrolling the action of the valves, and connections between the pistonand pendulum for modifying the action of said pendulum, valves andpiston, means for tilting the cylinder relatively to the machine, andadditional means for holding the cylinder in its tilted position.

8. In a dirigible air .ship, ahorizontal rudder, a cylinder, a pistonmovable in the cylinder and connected to the rudder, means for admittingfluid under pressure to the cylinder to operate the piston and rudderconnected thereto, means, including at least one valve and a pendulumconnected thereto, for controlling the passage of fluid to the cylinder,means for shifting the normal position of the cylinder relatively to thependulum and ahousing in which said pen-j dulum vibrates.

9. In a dirigible air ship, a supporting; plane, a guide plane movablerelatively tof the supporting plane, fluid pressure oper-- l ated meansconnected to the guide'plane to: control its action, automatic meansinclud ing a shiftable support and a pendulum hinged thereto forcontrollin the action ofif means and a housing in which said pendulumand its;

said fluid pressure operate support are adapted to swing.

10. In a dirigible airship, a supporting plane, balancing planes movablerelatively to the supporting plane,lfiuid pressure op erated meansconnected to andcont-rolling' the action of the balancing planes, auto-gmatic means comprising a shiftable support* and a pendulum hingedthereto to partake: of the motion of the support for controlling theaction of the fluid pressure operatedi means and a housing in which saidpenduplane adjusting means for returning the lum and its supportare-adapted to swing.

11. In a dirigible air ship, a supporting: plane, a guide plane movablerelatively to. the supporting plane, fluid pressure oper-- ated meansconnected to and controlling the action pf the guide plane, andautomatic means -1nclud1nga swinging support and a pendulum hinged tothe swinging support at one side of its swinging axis for controllingthe action of the fluid pressure operated means.

'12. Ina dirigible air ship, a supporting plane, balancing planesmovable relatively to the supporting plane, fluid pressure operatedfneansconnected to and controlling the action of the balancing planes,automatic means including a swinging support and a pendulum hingedthereto to swing on a difadapted to swing.

13. In an automatic balancing demos for aeroplanes, in combination witha support- .ing plane and a tiltable balancing plane, a

cylinder, a piston movable in the cylinder, connections between thepiston and balancing plane, means for supplying fluid under pressure tothe cylinder to operate the piston, valves for controlling the passageof such fluid to the cylinder, a pendulum, and connections between thependulum and valves for operating the latter by abnormal tilting of theaeroplane, and a housing inclosing the cylinder and pendulum and inwhich the pendulum is adapted to vibrate.

14. In a dirigible air ship, a supporting plane, a guide plane movablerelatively to the supporting plane, and automatic means controlling theaction of the guide plane and comprising a cylinder t-iltable relativelyto the supporting plane, a piston movable in the cylinder and connectedto the guide plane, means for admitting fluid under pressure to thecylinder to operate the piston, valves controlling the entrance of suchfluid to the cylinder and a pendulum controlling the action of saidvalves.

15. An automatic controlling means, for aeroplanes, comprising incombination, means angularly adjustable with relation to the horizontalplane of the aeroplane and forming a support, means carried by saidsupport for adjusting the stability planes of the aeroplane, a motorconnected to said plane adjusting means, means for supplying a fluidsupply .to said motor, means suspended to be displaced by theinclination of the aeroplane and mounted to actuate said fluid supplymeans, and a connection between said fluid supply means and said formerto its normal position.

16. An automatic means for maintaining the stability of aeroplanes,comprising in combination, an auxiliary motor, means for pivotallysuspending the motor from sa1d aeroplane, means for adjusting sa1dsuspending means manually, whereby to fix the normalposition of saidmotor, and means to automatically maintain said normal position.

In witness whereof I have hereunto-set my hand.

GEORGE HERBERT KELLOGG. Witnesses:

II. E. CHASE, J. M. Hons.

